


Leo

by Fanficprincess05



Series: Tales from Donnie's Lab [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Confused Leo, Emotional Donnie, Gen, Injured Leo, Slightly Fluffy I Guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:40:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanficprincess05/pseuds/Fanficprincess05
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Donnie has been avoiding Leonardo for a while now, and he's going to find out exactly why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leo

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the time between S02E26 [The Invasion Part 2] and S03E02 [A Foot Too Big]
> 
> In case you didn’t remember the tension between Leo and Donnie, which I found quite unexpected, you’d be best to go back and watch the season 2 finale. The first part, anyways.

“You’re avoiding me.”

While Leo’s past entries into my lab back home have been subtle and sneaky, this direct approach takes me by surprise and I drop my screwdriver, its clang as it hits the floor reverberating through my makeshift area and all around.

“Leo, what the…?” I groan, frustrated at the sudden interruption to my thoughts. I shoot him a look of disdain. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about..” I mumble, reaching under my desk for the runaway tool, hoping Leo doesn’t catch the slightly guilty tone of my voice.

“Don’t skirt around me, Donnie. You know what I mean. You don’t talk to me unless you’re forced to. Anytime we’re together alone, you make up some lame excuse and bolt. You won’t even look at me anymore. You _know_ what I mean.” He says that last part forcefully. Despite leaning heavily on his crutches, he’s all business. The frown on his face shows his frustration and pain of his current physical state, but his eyes show the sadness and hurt of _our_ current state. I wish I could go over and comfort him, but I stay firmly planted on my seat. I do swing a chair in his direction, though, since he looks like he’s about to collapse at any moment. He sits, letting go of his crutches while doing so, and heaves a huge sigh of relief to be off of his bad leg. He pushes the chair with his good leg, using it to roll next to me, staring at me intensely the whole time. I wish I could say I’m not intimidated by him. But sometimes, I am. This happens to be one of those moments.

Turning to stare him in the eyes, I shrug. “It’s nothing.” I cringe internally as I say it, knowing that I’m not only _not_ fooling anybody, but I sound like a prepubescent girl in the process. Leo sighs, rubbing his eyes with his hands; I can feel his frustration from a mile away. I turn my head back towards my work on the Kraang cell, and he sits there silently just watching me. I know he’s waiting for an answer – he’ll wait all day if he has to. I just don’t know how to give him what he’s looking for.

The truth is, I _have_ been avoiding him. It just all flashes back to me, over and over, grabbing hold of my mind and swirling around my heart, trapping it in a tight grip. In the sewers, before separating. My defiance towards him, and how for one small second in my mind I thought he was wrong. Stupid. That I was better, that he was inferior. That even though he was the leader, he was making a mistake and he should listen to me, because he was making poor choices that would get us all killed. For a split second, I hated him, and the image I had of him. That our leader, well, didn’t know how to lead. I hated what I was feeling more, though. Why was I so ANGRY?

And then the idiot had to go and get himself nearly killed. What if we hadn’t found him in time? What if he had suffered a worse fate? _What if.._

What if, down in those sewers, that was the last conversation I would have ever had with my brother? What if I had lost Leo, knowing that my last thoughts towards him were spiteful and filled with anger and hatred?

Luckily, fate had a different plan that day and Leo survived. But the guilt and shame still swirled in me. I couldn’t bring myself to admit any of this to him, and so I hid. I thought maybe, with time, I would get over it. But every time I looked into Leo’s eyes and saw his pain, or watched as he struggled to get by, the air was sucked out of my lungs and I was transported back to the time when I failed as his brother. Maybe it was all my fault. If I had just listened to him right from the start, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe if I had just been a good brother to him, then…

I realize then that a hand is on my shoulder, squeezing tightly, and I look up into Leo’s tear-filled eyes. I then also realize that I have been voicing all of my thoughts out loud, and that he’s heard everything. My eyes widen, and I hang my head in shame, cheeks going red. Me and my big mouth!

“Donnie…none of this is your fault.” He says gently, and I look back at him. I feel my own eyes fill with tears, but I strain to hold them back. Donatello does NOT break down. At least not in front of others, anyways.

“I should have fought to stay with you, instead of fighting with you. I was just trying to prove my point, and in the end it solved nothing. I should have just trusted you, and I should have just been..better.” At this point, I stop, because I feel the mania in my voice, the pitch getting higher and higher. Leo looks down, as if lost in thought, and after a few minutes he looks back up and nudges me in the shoulder.

“You know things would have been the same either way. I still would have gone after Shredder. I still would have told you to go with April. Because that’s what I do, I protect you. At the end of the day, Donnie, you’re still my brother, and no matter how defiant you were or how much you hated me, I still love you.”

I look at him and smile. My hands unconsciously roll the screwdriver and other tools around, something I tend to do when I’m uncomfortable. I fidget. Big displays of emotion, as much as I love them, always catch me off guard and I’m not used to them. “Leo, I’m so sorry for everything, I really am,” I whisper gently, looking down.

Thick emotion crosses over Leo’s features, and he swallows. “I know.” We look at each other and smile. I can see the light returning to Leo’s eyes. I feel a lightness myself – getting the secrets off of my chest and apologizing for them has lifted quite the weight off of my shoulders. Suddenly, Leo rolls over to his crutches, and I run to grab them for him, helping him up on his feet in spite of groans of protest. “God, I can’t wait for this stupid thing to heal, it’s driving me insane,” he growls playfully, kicking his foot out as much as it can go in frustration, which isn’t very far. I chuckle.

“Well, as attuned as I am to the craft of technology building, unfortunately I can’t build prosthetics from the materials in this farmhouse. However, I could reinforce your crutches with a titanium alloy, allowing for longer durability during training sessions and…” I ramble on, running my hand over Leo’s crutch as he begins to hobble towards the door.

Leo snorts. “Nerd.” That comment elicits a giggle from me, and Leo grins. It feels nice to finally have a moment of happiness between us. It’s been way too long, and I’ve missed my older brother. Not that I’ll ever fully admit it. As Leo reaches the doorframe he pauses, he turns to look at my one more time.

“You’re a great brother, Donnie. Please never forget that.” With that, he leaves.

This time, I believe him. _Everything’s going to be okay now,_ I think to myself, going back to my work station and continuing to fiddle with the Kraang cell.


End file.
